2015 Aussie Millions: Daniel Rudd, Oliver Gill and Sean O’Reilly Capture Titles
The 2015 Aussie Millions Poker Championship, which kicked off last week and will feature 21 events through Monday, Feb. 2, saw local player Vic Spadavecchia top a field of 1,211 entrants to win AU$1,150 Opening Event for AU$215,000 first-place prize, a championship gold ring, and a Rolex watch courtesy of LK Boutique.
Since then, three more events have concluded and a trio of players have taken down rings, including Aussie Millions veteran Oliver Gill (pictured) who finally broke through to take down Event #3: $2,500 8-Game Mixed. Before we get to that, remember that the PokerNews Live Reporting Team will be in Melbourne for the ninth year in a row to capture the action from the series’ most prestigious events including the AUD$10,000 Main Event from Sun. Jan. 15 through Sun. Feb. 1; $100,000 Challenge from Sun. Jan 25 through Sat. Jan. 31; and $250,000 Challenge from Sun. Feb. 1 through Mon. Feb. 2. For more information head on over to our Live Reporting Section.
Daniel Rudd Takes Down Event #2 $1,150 NLHE Shotclock Shootout
The second event of the 2015 Aussie Millions attracted 198 entrants including Ole Schemion, Fabian Quoss, Sam Cohen, Nacho Barbero, Terrence Chan, and 2013 Aussie Millions Shootout champ Michael "Sticky" Guttman. Of those, only Quoss won his table — doing so by defeating Peco Stojanovski in heads-up play — and he was joined by 21 other winners on Day 2 including Mustapha Kanit, Dennis Huntly, and former Aussie Millions champ Tyron Krost, all of who guaranteed themselves AU$2,030.
Kanit, Quoss, and Krost would all fall short of the final table, as would Jing Zhou, who finished as the bubble boy after getting his stack in only to see Daniel Rudd table the 8♥7♠ on a board reading 10♠6♠8♦Q♠9♣. Zhou mucked to Rudd's straight, and the final table was set.
World Series of Poker APAC bracelet winner Rory Young began the final table as chip leader, but he eventually fell in fifth place when he got his chips all in preflop holding the A♠Q♠ and failed to hold against Rudd, who made two pair with the 8♥7♥.
When play reached three-handed, Rudd struck a deal with Hiroaki Harada and former Team PokerStars Pro Angel Guillen. Since he had the most chips, Harada locked up the most money with AU$37,913, while Guillen wasn't far behind with AU$35,397. Interestingly, Rudd, who was the short stack at the time and secured AU$31,690, went on to win the event 15 minutes later.
It happened after Guillen fell in third and Harada got it in with Kx9x against Rudd's 8x2x. Rudd managed to make two pair, and the Englishman took down the biggest score of his career.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize (AU$) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daniel Rudd | $31,690* |
| 2 | Hiroaki Harada | $37,913* |
| 3 | Angel Guillen | $35,397* |
| 4 | Greg Cook | $15,830 |
| 5 | Rory Young | $13,200 |
| 6 | Alex Lynskey | $10,650 |
| 7 | Alexander Debus | $8,620 |
| 8 | David Heskin | $6,900 |
| 9 | John Thomson | $5,380 |
*Denotes three-handed deal
Oliver Gill Finally Breaks Through in Event #3: $2,500 8-Game Mixed
Event #3: $2,500 8-Game Mixed attracted a small but experienced field of 46 players, of which just five were to be paid. Day 1 saw 41 players hit the rail including Australian pro Van Marcus, who exited as the bubble boy in sixth place after losing a hand of Razz to 2004 Aussie Millions champ Tony Bloom, who entered Day 2 with the chip lead.
Others at the final table included Aussie veteran Sam Khouiss, Norway's Mikal Blomlie, the talkative Oliver Gill, and Canada's Jonas Mackoff. It didn't take long for Mackoff and Blomlie to hit the rail in fifth and fourth place respectively, but then three-handed play dragged on for several hours.
Eventually Bloom doubled through Khouiss after making a full house in a hand of seven-card stud, and then Gill finished off Khouiss in a hand of pot-limit Omaha. That gave Gill a 2-1 chip lead at the start of heads-up play, and it didn't take long for things to come to a head. In a three-bet preflop hand of PLO, the duo saw a flop of 4♦6♠2♣ and got the chips in. Bloom held the 5♦2♥6♦7♦ for two pair and a straight draw, which was ahead of Gill's naked aces with the A♣A♠6♠Q♦. A 7x on the turn was of no consequence, but the Ax river was as Gill spiked trips to capture the title.
“It feels weird to win with a suckout, but meh, I’ll take it,” Gill told Aussie Millions officials after the win, which earned him a $38,815 payday.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize (AU$) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oliver Gill | $38,815 |
| 2 | Tony Bloom | $26,395 |
| 3 | Sam Khouiss | $17,075 |
| 4 | Mikal Blomlie | $11,900 |
| 5 | Jonas Mackoff | $9,315 |
Sean O'Reilly Defeats Xuan Liu to Win Event #4: $1,150 No-Limit Hold'em Six-Max
Event #4: $1,150 No-Limit Hold'em Six-Max attracted 496 entrants, but throughout the first day 483 of them would fall. Among those to take their leave with a small payday were Andrew Hinrichsen (43rd), Ash Warner (36th), Martin Finger (34th), Anthony Hachem (33rd), Rory Young (32nd), Tony Hachem (30th), Dennis Huntly (29th) and Tom Grigg (23rd).
By the end of the night, just 13 played remained — each guaranteed at least AU$6,200 – with Bobby Zhang and his stack of 680,000 leading the way. Others still in contention included Xuan Liu, Craig McCorkell, Victor Teng, and Michel Bouskila, who won the same event back in 2013.
On Day 2, Bouskila was denied his second title in three years after falling in 12th place, and a short time later McCorkell followed him out the door in 10th place. According to Poker Asia Pacific, the WSOP bracelet winner three-bet jammed holding the 2♣2♠ in the big blind and was called by David Urban, who had opened with the A♠10♣. The board ran out 6♠8♣K♠10♥5♥ and McCorkell had to settled for AU$7,700 for his deep run.
After that, all eyes seemed to be on Liu, who managed to make it all the way to heads-up play against Sean O'Reilly, albeit at a sizable chip disadvantage. In what would be the final hand of the tournament, O'Reilly moved all in from the button holding the K♦2♠ and Liu called off with the A♥10♠. Liu got it in good, but the 6♥8♠2♦ flop gave O'Reilly the lead with a pair of ducks. The A♦ turn gave Liu back the lead, but it was short lived as the K♥ spiked on the river to give O'Reilly two pair and the win.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize (AU$) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sean O’Reilly | $107,200 |
| 2 | Xuan Liu | $71,500 |
| 3 | Bobby Zhang | $52,500 |
| 4 | David Urban | $41,000 |
| 5 | Shivan Abdine | $30,500 |
| 6 | Adam Jarvis | $20,500 |
| 7 | Robbie Fisher-O’Brien | $10,500 |
*Data courtesy of Aussie Millions Press Release. Photos courtesy of @CrownPoker on Twitter.
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